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Wednesday, 23 November 2016

Many of you may not know, but I have been using Young Living Essential Oils for a few years. I have so much to say about how using these oils have improve the overall health and lifestyle of our family. Of course, I can't say that these are miracle oils. It is not something that you use and will be fully recovered the next moment. However, over the long term, I can really see and feel how the oils have contributed to our better health.

Here are some of my favourite essential oils and how I have been using them.

Lavender: This is the first oil that I used when I first started on my oiling journey. I was clumsy and burnt my hand while handling the baking tray. Immediately, I dripped some lavender onto my fingers and after a few rounds of oiling, my hand was starting to feel better. It wasn't painful anymore. The most amazing part, I didn't develop any blisters from the burn and there wasn't any burnt marks too! Lavender has become my favourite oil for burns, falls and mosquito bites. The smell is very pleasant too.

Thieves: Thieves is useful in supporting the immune system and good health. I apply this on the soles of my kids before they go to school or playgrounds.

Purification: When the kids get bitten by mosquitoes, I will apply purification to cleanse and soothe the bites. This is a must bring when we go outdoor. During the haze period, I will also diffuse purification in our room to purify and cleanse the air.

If you wish to know more about Young Living Essential Oils, feel free to drop me an email or message.

J.Oil

This coming December, a Singapore essential oil community, One Drop, is bringing you a Christmas bazaar that will leave you giddy with delight!

J.Oil

Date: 3 December 2016

Time: 12pm - 6pm

Location: Park Hotel Alexandra Botanique RoomPrice: $10

Here's what you can expect from the bazaar:

Expect more than 15 local traders bringing in their very special items - some personally crafted, some sourced carefully around the world. There are plenty of quirky and beautiful items that will make one-of-a-kind gifts for Christmas. And yes food items too - so yummy you will not resist!

There will also be a total of 6 FREE essential oil and lifestyle workshops guarantee a value-added experience as you shop. More information about the workshops, please check here.

Do your bit for charity. 100% of the collected entrance fees will be donated to One Life Global Charity to fund a project to buy medical and trauma equipment for children in Syria affected by the on-going civil war.

On Site Promotion

There will be a special onsite promotion on the day of the event for new members who wish to sign up with a new Young Living account. There will also be having a special NingXia Red promotion on the event day.

New members who sign up on-site will receive:

1. 5ml bottle of Lavender essential oil

2. Free copy of Live Alive Book - Only for new One Dropper members

In addition, if you sign up as an Essential Reward Program member under me and quote #1554986 as your enroller and sponsor, you will further receive:

GIVEAWAY

Thanks to J.Oil, we have 5 pairs of tickets to giveaway to 5 lucky winners (1 pair per winner)! One of these 5 winners will get to win an additional 1 bottle of 5ml Black Pepper essential oil. More information about the uses of Black Pepper can be found here.

Let's start our walk down Jonker street, one the most crowded and happening street in Malacca when dusk falls. Every Friday to Sunday evening, the road will be closed to vehicles and the street becomes a night market.

The center stage greeted us as we stepped onto Jonker Street. When the night comes, there will be people singing karaoke on the stage!

Our first stop is Bibik House. We heard reviews that their pineapple tarts are good and decided to get some. However, after tasting I personally feel that it is over-rated. I prefer those melt-in-the-mouth type that we get in Singapore.

It was about 5pm when we reached there are there are still cars driving along the street. But come 6pm, the road will be closed and stalls will be setup along the street for the night market.

Jonker 88

Address: 88, Jalan Hang Jebat, 75200 Melaka, Malaysia

We had a proper meal at Jonker 88. From our research, this is a must-try place at Jonker Street. It is recommended for its Chendol and Laksa.

From the outside, the place looks small. However, when we stepped in, the place is quite long and stretch all the way inside. This is a common feature of the old houses in Malacca. The place also has a lot of vintage stuffs, from old coins to vintage posters.

It was quite crowded when we reached there and we took a while to find a table. Fortunately, the turnover is quite fast, just that there were a lot of people standing around trying to find a table.

Everything is self-service here.

We ordered some of the must-trys, Baba Laksa, Nyonya Assam Laksa and Chendol! We also ordered a bowl of soup noodles for the boys as they can't take spicy food.

The Nyonya Assam Laksa is sour and spicy. I did not have a fancy for this as it was too spicy for me.

The Baba Laksa has coconut milk added and taste like our local Singapore laska. I prefer this more.

We didn't managed to take a photo of the Chendol as it was quickly gobbled up. Chendol is a must-try at Malacca and there are many shops that sell chendol along Jonker Street. The chendol at Jonker 88 is not bad but I feel the one at East & West Rendezvous is better.

San Shu Gong

Address: 33, Jalan Hang Jebat, 75200 Melaka, Malaysia

After we finished eating at Jonker 88, the road is closed to vehicles and stalls has started setting up. Before I show you the sights of the night market, let me bring you to San Shu Gong first.

Right outside San Shu Gong, there is this street performer who charges RM2 for people to take a photo with him. I thought this was interesting and took a photo from afar, not thinking much about it. Then as we were about to enter San Shu Gong, he asked for payment from me for taking a photo of him. So beware if you are not intending to take a photo with him, don't even try to take a photo of the surroundings with him in the picture.

San Shu Gong is a shop that sells a variety of local produce. This is a one stop place for you to buy some local food and snacks back as souvenirs. Best of all? It has air-con! A place to relax and escape from the heat.

We tried a sample of the Essence Lime with Liquorice (陈年老桔). The drink is very refreshing with a sweet, sour, saltish taste. In the end, we bought a few bottles home.

We can see jars of the 陈年老桔 around the shop. Not sure if these are only for display or is there anything inside.

There is also a counter where you can buy drinks and some light snacks and enjoy them at the tables upstairs.

Jonker Street

As night falls, Jonker Street becomes alive with stalls setup along the road. There are lots to see and lots to eat.

There are many stalls selling these cute little things. From stools, key chains, ornaments, kids toys to household items.

Of course, there is no night market without food. These baked quail eggs are delicious! It is quail eggs with pieces of hotdogs. It goes for RM 4 for a stick and RM 10 for 3 sticks.

BBQ stick and more eggs food.

These beautifully decorated trishaws are a common sight in Malacca.

We were walking when suddenly Small J stopped and looked at these magnets with much interest. He even told us that he wants to buy them.

These drinks in strange bottles. Would you dare to drink from a baby's bottle?

More food....

Another must-get at Jonker Street, durian puffs! The puffs are filled with durian cream custard and you need to eat them in one mouthful. 6 pieces for RM 10.60.

Oldies ice-popsicles! Anyone still remember this?

The crowd getting bigger and bigger as it gets darker. Parents have to be take note of your kids and belongings as the place gets really crowded.

There are also interesting activities going on in the 会馆.

We were back at the center stage. Big J is talking to the clown.

Uncle singing karaoke on the stage.

The boys were getting more restless and cranky as it was past their sleeping time, so we decided to call it a night and went back to our apartment.

Friday, 30 September 2016

I have been feeling guilty that I am not able to spend as much time on teaching Small J. He is 3 years old but he still doesn't know his colours, letters or numbers. He will be going to nursery next year, and being a kiasu mum, I hope he will at least know some of these concepts when he starts school.

I have decided to start homelearning with him and hopefully he will love this as much as playing with his trains, cars and balls.

Part of my plan is to set up workboxes for him to work on. We call it playboxes instead. These will mainly focus on fine motor skills which is so important for preschoolers. Another plan for these workboxes is for Big J to fine tune his fine motor skills. Unfortunately, Big J has some issues with his fine motor skills and so he really needs a lot of practice.

Here are our first workboxes:

Inserting Small Counters Into Slots

This is a very simple one. He will need to insert the small counters into the slots on the box. The box was actually wrapped and each slot has a colour to match to the counters. But the boys ripped out the wrapper before I could take a proper photo. The counters are from Amazon.

Sorting Items By Size

That particular week we were learning the words 大, 中, 小 during our Chinese lesson, so I set up this basket of stuffs for the boys to sort according to size.

Blocks Counting On Truck

The template of the truck is from The Measured Mom. This is one of my favourite educational website for learning resources. The blocks are from Amazon. The boys will need to pick a number and load the required number of blocks onto the truck. Big J is working on numbers to 20 and Small J is working on numbers to 5.

Screwing Bottle Caps

I prepared 5 bottles of different sizes and the kids need to match the bottles to the correct caps and screw them on. I thought this is will be a very easy task, but I realised that Small J is not screwing the caps the correct way. Instead of turning the cap to close the bottle, he turn the bottle.

Sorting By Letters

This box was set up with Big J in mind. He knows all the letter sounds and totally breezes through this. For Small J, we only did one letter at a time and I say the name of the pictures with emphasis on the beginning sound for him. You may get this from The Measured Mom again.

Waterplay With Gems

We also did a waterplay with glass gems and plastic pebbles. The boys scooping, tonging, pouring, counting with these. I am glad that the boys are better in controlling themselves while doing waterplay. Instead of splashing and pouring the water all over the floor, they are now able to sit and play nicely.

For those interested, the dark blue glass gems are from ArtFriend and the light blue ones are from Daiso.

If you enjoyed reading this post, please feel free to share it with your friends. I would be glad if you could follow me on Facebook or Instagram.

Sunday, 25 September 2016

Hooray for those living in the west! A new indoor playground has just recently popped up at Jurong East. Located at BigBox, My Little Giant is the latest indoor playground that has just opened.

Update: My Little Gym has announced their official pricing, Check out the end of the post for the fees structure.

Since it is newly opened, My Little Giant is offering a special opening rate - $12 for Monday to Thursday and $16 for Friday to Sunday, Public Holidays and Eve of Public Holidays.Children below 3 years old pay half price. I would say that the price is very reasonable. And the best part? It is unlimited playtime on all days!! This promotion is valid till 30 September 2016, so do check it out quickly!!

We checked out the place and the boys definitely had a wonderful time. There are 3 levels of play with lots of activities for everyone. I said everyone because not only the boys, Daddy J and me enjoyed the playground too. Parents however, have to be prepared to walk bending down or kneeling down if you want to climb the structure with your kids.

Kids Arcade Entertainment Centre

As with all indoor playground, before we can jump into play, we need to remove our shoes. The shoes area is just beside the playground.

As we walked towards to shoes area, we saw something like an arcade for the kids. There were some game machines, ride-ons, a carousel and a train. There are also some excavators which is like those from Diggersite. However, these are not included in the tickets to My Little Giant. You will need to pay separately for these.

Ball Pit

After settling our shoes, we proceed to the entrance. Before entering, we were given a tag which can be used for re-entry.

Upon entering, the first thing we saw was the ball pit. This is every child's favourite. Leading to the ball pit is the big white slide (more about this later).

At one end of the ball pit, there is this structure that blows air out of the holes. The boys were fascinated to see the balls floating and trying to hit and catch them as they fly.

Of course, lying down in the ball pit is a must-to-do!

The Big White Slide

At the other end of the ball pit, is the big slide which starts from the third level of the play structure. A word of warning, this is not for the faint-hearted. Although, it doesn't seem very high, it is very slippery and it goes very fast! I went a few rounds with the boys and I felt quite frightened as I sit waiting for our turn to go. However, I really enjoyed the ride down. Another word of caution, do make sure that there is enough balls at the bottom of the slide to cushion your fall before you slide. Small J went once and hit his head on the slide at the bottom because there wasn't enough balls to cushion as he slides down.

The plus point is they have two staffs to tend this station. One at the top to control the queue and one at the bottom to push the balls to the slide.

Big J was initially very reluctant to go on the slide as he thought it is very scary. The very friendly and helpful staff actually slide down together with him for quite a few rounds!

At the end, he was able to slide down himself with the help of the sliding sack. In his words, this sack helps to protect him.

Toddler Area

As we move further into the play structure, there is an open area for younger children. There are some rocking horses, see-saws, car ride-on and mini gym balls for the little ones to play. Do note that this area is quite dark as this is the most bottom level of the play structure and is not as bright as the photos showed.

The open area is shown in the background of this photo. The ball pit is at the far right corner and the trampoline is on the left. The rest is open space and stairs that lead to the second level.

Trampoline

In the far corner of level 1 of the play structure is a trampoline. Jump, jump, jump!!

Climb Climb Climb

Proceeding to the next two levels, this is where all the climbing starts. Parents, be prepared of lots of back-bending exercise! There are lots of climbing up stairs, through obstacles and tunnels.

Bounce Bounce

Ok, I have no idea what is the name of this structure. Let's call it bounce bounce. Children can sit on it and bounce away.

Air Guns

Also located on the second level, are the air guns. If I remember correctly, there are about 8 or 9 air guns. What I like about this the balls are shot at an enclosed area so we don't have to worry about flying balls hitting us. However, the downside is, the balls are mostly stuck in the middle of the net and there are not much balls at the side of the net for us to take. I also feel that the guns are positioned too high or perhaps these are meant for older kids?

Small Slides

If your kids can't take the big slide, there are also some smaller slides which they can try. These are located at level three of the play structure and are safer for younger children. Apart from these two, there is also a spiral tunnel slide which I didn't managed to take a photo of.

Mini Train

Located on level 3 is a mini train. Your child will need to turn the handle in a cycling manner to drive the train. Unfortunately, the handle is quite difficult to turn and requires lots of strength. As you can see from Small J's expression, he is using all his strength trying to drive the train.

Verdict

Considering the promotional price, My Little Giant is definitely worthwhile to visit! There are lots of fun activities to occupy the kids and they had so much fun! Not forgetting that it is for unlimited playtime, weekends included! We played for about 5 hours and took a lunch break in between. As the place is new, everything is new and clean! The staffs were also very friendly and helpful. We will definitely be back again.

Here's a video of the boys in action.

Fee Structure

Unlimited playtime on all days!! I would suggest to go on a weekday as it is cheaper and less crowded!!